Palladium coating trouble shooting

Quick question: Does someone have an on-line resource they can point me to regarding Pt/Pd (in my case palladium only) paper coating troubleshooting?

Over the weekend I tried coating Arches 120# with a brush (soaked in distilled water) using a Photographer's Formulary kit.

I'm not getting the dark areas as deep as I've seen possible, and the darks are a little "grainy" feeling... leaving me to believe I might not have humidified the paper enough, or maybe that I need to go with a glass coating rod.

I have a Pt/Pd print from Ray Bidegain to use as reference. His image is super sharp with nice deep blacks, subtle luminous gradations, and none of this "grainy"/"solution didn't soak in enough" feeling that I just stumbled into.

Graininess, and lack of tonal depth may result from a coating problem (not enough liquid for the surface area being coated, or the related problem of extending the coated area too far beyond the intended boundaries of the image). Or, in the conventional Pt/Pd process, you can also get a grainey, anemic image if there is too much of the #2 contrasting agent in the mix.

A coating rod does allow you do coat an area with less liquid than is required with a brush.

The first question is, are you sure this is a good paper for pt/pd? In other words, do you know others that are using it successfully? I tried Arches watercolor a few years ago and it gave very poor results, even with acid presoak and the regular bag of tricks.

I tried Arches watercolor a few years ago and it gave very poor results, even with acid presoak and the regular bag of tricks.

I've not had the best luck with Arches either. The hot press I have found the best, but only with a good oxalic acid pre-soak. Without you are going to get poor dmax (grainy look) and uneven printing. Is Ray printing on the same paper?

In any event, your points regarding paper selection are well taken. Thank you.

Originally Posted by billschwab

I've not had the best luck with Arches either. The hot press I have found the best, but only with a good oxalic acid pre-soak. Without you are going to get poor dmax (grainy look) and uneven printing. Is Ray printing on the same paper?

Are you sure the paper they were using was not Arches Platine vs Cranes Cover Stock (aka Platinotype)? And not Arches Watercolor...just a thought, because there is a BIG difference in Platine and the many other papers made by Arches. Just a thought.

Be carefull, Arches is a big factory and makes a lot of different paper. Arches Platine only is for pd/pt printing (even if it's possible to print on few others). It's really my favorite but it needs two things: warmth over 20°C (68° F) and a very good humidity over 50% around 60 -70% is the best. My darkroom is always a bit over 50% and I humidify the paper I will use for at least 30mn before printing.

Well... I did pick the paper up from the drawer marked Arches Platine. And there was a nice little note on the badget that said this was specifically for Pt/Pd work. This, even though it was at a local art supply store.

It looks like I'd better check what I really have. I wonder if they loaded up the wrong paper into the drawer? Something about believe, but verify???

Originally Posted by photomc

Are you sure the paper they were using was not Arches Platine vs Cranes Cover Stock (aka Platinotype)? And not Arches Watercolor...just a thought, because there is a BIG difference in Platine and the many other papers made by Arches. Just a thought.